Morgan Stanislaus Grace

Morgan Stanislaus "Stan" Grace (28 February 1837 – 19 April 1903) was a surgeon in Wellington, member of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, and a staunch Roman Catholic.

Early life He was born on 28 February 1837 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland, to Ellen Mary Russell and her husband, James Grace, a landowner.

Grace grew up on a farm belonging to his father. His maternal family were Scottish Calvinists, but he was brought up and educated a Catholic. His formal education began at the Jesuit-run Stonyhurst College, England. He apparently started his university studies in Dublin and spent some time on the Continent; this may have included a period in Paris. In 1858 he received a diploma in medicine at the University of Jena, Germany, and in 1859 he took his licentiate at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Military career He enlisted in the British Army on 20 April 1859 as staff assistant and surgeon. He arrived in Auckland with a detachment of troops on the Nugget on 21 June 1860, three months after the start of the Waitara war in the Taranaki Region. He served as a medical officer in the First Taranaki War, the Invasion of Waikato and in subsequent campaigns. He left the Imperial Army, joining the Colonial Forces, and became their Surgeon-General.

Medical career In 1866 Grace started a very successful medical practice in Wellington, which he was to keep up for over 30 years. He was Honorary Surgeon at the Wellington Hospital from 1879 to 1882 and Honorary Consulting Surgeon at Wellington Hospital between 1883 and 1886.

Politics In 1870 he received a letter from Sir William Fox, Premier of New Zealand, inviting him to the Legislative Council, the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament. He served on the Council until his death. In 1890 he moved the address in reply, and in a long speech looked back over his 30 years in the colony. a wealthy merchant and a member of the Legislative Council. The couple were to have nine surviving children: five boys and four girls.

His elder brother William Russell Grace was also the first Catholic Mayor of New York.

His nephew Cecil Grace attempted a crossing of the English Channel in December 1910 in an aeroplane. He flew from Dover to Calais. However, in coming back he became disoriented and over Dover flew northeast over the Goodwin Sands toward the North Sea and was lost.